To Fulfil a Dream That is Not My Own
by CLR31
Summary: Somehow, in the midst of Millie Hudson's ordinary life, something particularly unordinary happened. One way or another, she found herself wandering in an unfamiliar territory, called the Twilight Zone


**Somehow, in the midst of her ordinary life, something particularly unordinary happened. One way or another, Millie Hudson found herself wandering in an unfamiliar territory, called the Twilight Zone.**

An unsettling racket approached her ears as she awakened. When she opened her eyes, her surroundings were unfamiliar. She found herself studying raindrops striking the window, splatting noisily as they hit. Her mind was in a haze. _Where am I? What am I doing here? _She tried hard to recall. The last thing she remembered, she had gotten home late from another pointless day at work and went to bed around 12:00am in her home in New York City. She was slowly shaking the covers from herself when she was startled by a voice coming from the doorway. "Good morning." An older woman stood in the doorway, hands on her hips and smiling cheerfully. "I was coming to wake you up. You've slept in quite a bit, but you needed the rest for your first day and you did get in pretty late last night. I'm going to leave you this list," she said as she walked towards a desk in the corner. "It's a list for this week, just to get you started," she said as she placed the list on the desk. "I'll give you a few minutes. I'll be downstairs in the kitchen, breakfast is almost ready," she said happily as she walked away.

"Oh, wow," she said to herself. "I must've hit my head or something. Since when was I a house keeper?" she said to herself. She slowly stood up and paced back and forth with her head in her hands, trying to remember any small idea of why she was there. She picked up the list off of the desk and began to read it.

_Miss Millie Hudson, thank you for accepting my offer to keep my house. I have been desperate for months since my last housekeeper quit. Below is a list of different things I would like you to do for me. Complete them in whichever order you wish._

_Do the laundry left in the basket in the laundry room (I will show you where it's at)_

_Do the dishes every night_

_Prepare morning and evening meals. I will be at work during lunch._

_I will give you a tour of the house later today to show you around. There are a few other things I would like for you to do._

_Please let me know if you have any questions_

_Miss Houston._

"That was exasperating," she sighed. "I guess I have the week ahead of me pretty well planned out." She walked out of the room, not even paying any mind to the night gown she was still wearing. She walked down the hall until she finally found the bathroom. She entered the room and took a good look at herself in the mirror. She still looked like herself, but she still had no idea why she was there. The answer was beyond her knowledge. She hoped it was only a dream. A horrible nightmare. She was trying to pull herself together when she began to detect pleasant aroma rising from downstairs, so she went downstairs for breakfast.

She didn't know what was going on, but it seemed apparent enough to her that there was nothing she could do about it at the moment, so she was determined to make the best of it.

The day that followed was blurry and hazy for Millie. Miss Houston showed her around the house and in a few days, Millie adjusted to the routine.

One morning, when Millie was in the kitchen preparing breakfast, Miss Houston came in to let her know she had a new job for her. "I would like for you to take the plants in the living room and move them outside," she said as she sat down. Millie nodded as she served Miss Houston her breakfast.

"So, what happened to your last housekeeper? Why did she quit?" Millie asked her. She felt as though she might have been slightly forward with her question, especially considering she had hardly even spoken to Miss Houston apart from the subject of housekeeping, but she was relieved when Miss Houston began to answer her question without any sign of unwillingness. "Well, let me start from the beginning," she said. "Alice, my last housekeeper, came from a small town in the south called Greysonville that was suffering in drought. She didn't have any work there, so she decided to go west. She didn't care where, just as long as she could leave that retched, dry little town. So anyway, she ended up here, which would be a nice change if you didn't mind the rain. It rains just about everyday in this little town! Well, I guess she just got a little bit tired of the rain, you know. She always felt like a failure, like she never made a difference in the world. Always had dreams of going to California and becoming a movie star, so she packed her bags and boarded a train to California one day," she said, looking a little sad as she looked down at the counter. "I, well.. she didn't actually quit." "Well, what do you mean? Did you fire her?" Millie asked. "Oh, no, of course not," she answered. "She, um.. she got really sick, ya know, and she died shortly after," she finished with tears in her eyes. "Oh, I'm so sorry,"Millie sympathized. "Did she ever become a movie star like she had dreamed?" Miss Houston just answered with "No."

Later that day, Millie took the plants from the living room to place them outside. She walked around the house to the patio and sat them on a stand, and then sat herself down on a moist, stone bench to relax. She was admiring the luscious greenery when suddenly, the sky turned black with darkness and a beam of light swirled about her like a tornado. She found herself standing at a train station. "Miss, the train is leaving," said the train conductor, who was climbing onto a train that was headed for California.

A sudden realization hit her the very moment she stood there at the train station: She had been lost in her life for so long, and sure that she would never make an impact on anyone or anything. This was her chance; her destiny, perhaps, to fulfil Alice's dream, her passion. To become a movie star had not been Millie's passion, but the need to make a difference was.

"All aboard," said the train conductor for the last time. And as the whistle was blowing its final farewell puffs, she, too, climbed aboard.


End file.
